I contracted with MHI to hang and finish drywall for a small basement remodel project – walls only, no ceilings, over bare studs and spray foam insulation. A very simple job by drywall standards.
I’ve been involved in the Building Trades since I was a teenager so I realize that quality drywall finishing is much more difficult then it seems. I was assured by Dennis the Vice President , as we inspected the jobsite, that he had a highly skilled, experienced Crew and other than a couple small transition areas where the new work would meet the old work it was a simple job. MHI was actually the highest of the four bids I received but after Dennis assured me that he “would exceed my expectations†I chose them.
Right at the agreed start time the crew arrived. The crew seemed quite disorganized and after a bit of chitchat I found out that that “Leader†had brought his wife along and the rest of the crew were “only there because it was too cold to power washâ€. Not even close to the Professional Crew I had envisioned. At most I expected a crew of two not the six that showed. For day one the quality of the work was not that bad considering the chaos of six people in a small area, although they had broken the stairs and I had to provide a ladder since this crew did not have one.
Day two brought a small crew of two and was quite uneventful although they did not hang plastic ( as agreed upon in the contract)to prevent the rest of the house from filling with dust. It was after they left and I did a quick inspection that things went further downhill. When cutting out around electrical boxes an 1/8 inch gap is standard. Any larger and the cover plates won’t hide it. You really only get one chance and if it’s screwed up the panel must be replaced. Imagine my horror when I found four of the boxes with gaps up to one inch (see the photos below). I quickly called Dennis and he agreed to meet in the morning and inspect. The next morning he inspected it and made them remove the complete panels and replace them.
Over the next two days work progressed but each night when I inspected I could tell I made a mistake in hiring MHI. The work was very amateurish. I then decided that I would let them finish and I would take over and try to salvage this job. I wrote them a check for the contract price and as soon as they were gone I started filling and sanding to get ready for paint.
It was when I started spraying paint for an elevated display area that I finally lost it. I noticed something wasn’t right. I quickly found my Phone and looked at the photos I had taken of all the walls before the crew showed up. Sure enough there were the two electrical boxes that they had covered and forgotten about. Had I not discovered this dangerous error and turned the circuit back on I would have had hidden, exposed live wires behind my walls.
My question is: Would you feel comfortable living in a house with exposed wires hidden behind the walls just waiting to start a fire? Or since this wall backs up to a bathroom, a water leak electrifying the shower? This is a serious safety and fire hazard and there is no excuse for this level of carelessness.
At first I thought this crew was amateurish and lacked the skill set to do quality work but now I realize they were also careless and a danger. I’m considering bringing in a crew to remove all of the drywall so I can inspect all the wiring and hire a crew to re-sheet the area. It would be expensive, but in the end it would be cheaper than having my house burn down or a member of my family electrocuted.
Needless to say my expectations were not exceeded nor would I recommend MHI for any drywall work.